


If I Fall, You'd Catch Me

by DetectiveRoboRyan



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Knight-Lady Dynamics, Pre-Canon, Puppy Love, Sad in Perspective, cliché as fuck, kid shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-22
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-04-05 16:32:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4186914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetectiveRoboRyan/pseuds/DetectiveRoboRyan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phila is a clever girl, everyone knows that. And now it's come time to use that cleverness to sneak her best friend (who happens to be the Literal Exalt) out of the castle and out to a party, because when you're twelve, that's just what you do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Exalt is Afraid of Heights

Phila took pride in her resourcefulness. Her Pegasus Knight mentor, Lady Cosette, often said she was a clever girl— and Phila knew she was, not that she bragged about it. At twelve, Phila was showing promise as a Pegasus Knight, but she had a lot to learn about keeping her temper under control.  
  
The thing she hated the most was being talked down to, because the people at the castle did that the most often. And more and more often, they turned her away from seeing her best friend, who had become the Exalt a little over two years previous, saying Emmeryn had “Exaltly duties” and she “wouldn’t understand.” In previous years, she’d argue with the guards until she was blue in the face, but being twelve meant Phila thought she could do better than that. So she and Emmeryn schemed and plotted until they came up with a plan so fantastic, the guards wouldn’t see it coming.  
  
Which was why Phila was where she was at that moment, and why there was a rope ladder dangling out Emmeryn’s bedroom window. Phila tugged on it to test it, throwing the bag she’d brought over her shoulder and setting her foot on one of the wooden slats and starting to climb.  
  
Emmeryn had left the window open for the moment Phila inevitably tumbled into the room, landing with her face on the soft carpet and then sitting up and spitting out a clump of fluff.  
  
“Did you get it?” Emmeryn asked quickly, crouching beside Phila. “I hope no one saw you climb up, that’d be a lot to explain— I know we could get away with it, but I don’t like lying to the guards.”  
  
“No one saw me, trust me,” Phila assured her, opening up the bag. “Dinner is in here too, but on top of that is the disguise. Do you think it’ll fit? My sister is shorter than you are.”  
  
“It’ll be fine,” Emmeryn insisted, pulling out the clothing, which would fit a young village girl far more than it would the Exalt (which was kind of the idea) and undoing the buttons on her nightgown. “I told the council I was feeling sick and wanted to be left alone the rest of the evening. We’ll be back not too long after it gets dark, right?”  
  
“Hopefully so,” Phila nodded. “So long as the party doesn’t go for too long.”  
  
“A party?” Emmeryn groaned, pulling the nightgown off and wiggling into the dress Phila provided. “I’m sick of parties, Phi. Too many nobles sending sideways glances and trying to set me up with their snot-nosed sons.”  
  
Phila grimaced at the mental image of Emmeryn holding hands with a spoiled noble boy, and also felt a pang of jealousy for a reason she couldn’t really explain. “Don’t worry, that’s not the kind of party it is. There won’t be any adults there, for one. And it isn’t really a party because there won’t be any music, unless Briar brings his violin again. It’s really more of a gathering.”  
  
“Do your friends know I’m coming?” Emmeryn asked, combing her fingers through her long, pale hair, but not too much. “I wouldn’t want to have it be a surprise, you know how rude it is to show up to a party uninvited— and I’d presume the same went for gatherings. How do I look?”  
  
She looked beautiful— but then, Emm always did have an air of peace and radiance around her. The simpler clothes helped dim it down, and more to the point, she looked like any young girl you’d find in any village. There were probably two dozen tall, slender blonde girls of the same age in Ylisstol. Phila knew none were on par with Emmeryn, but no one was on par with Emmeryn. Emm was otherworldly, the kind of otherworldy that made you think she belonged with the sky and stars, above the mortal realm. Of course, Emm wouldn’t have any of that.  
  
“Lovely,” Phila decided. “And more to the point, not royal. You’ll blend in great! Except…” Phila hummed thoughtfully, then reached into her bag and pulled out a strip of white cloth.  
  
“What’s that for?” Emm asked, frowning.  
  
“The mark,” Phila explained. “Come here, I’ll tie it. The dress isn’t going to fool anyone if they see that on your forehead, and then I’ll probably get arrested for kidnapping.”  
  
Emmeryn pulled the pink scarf off her head and crouched a bit to let Phila tie the strip of cloth carefully over the Brand on her forehead. “There’s a chance this scheme won’t work, you know. I spent all afternoon thinking about it.”  
  
“Did that worrisome head of yours happen to think up anything to do in case it doesn’t work?” Phila asked, combing Emmeryn’s hair out of her face. “If not, then there’s no need, because that won’t happen. We’ve thought this through, for once!”  
  
“That’s true,” Emmeryn admitted, tugging at the shawl around her shoulders. “And no, I didn’t come up with anything we could do in case it doesn’t work. But you’re sure it will? They won’t recognize me as the Exalt?”  
  
Phila rolled her eyes and chuckled. “Emm, the party is going to be comprised of six to ten people our age, all of whom are likely going to be more interested in each other or what food other people brought. I told them you were my friend Emm from out of town, and they’ll all believe it.”  
  
“Just your friend?” Emm teased, seeming less worried, to Phila’s relief.  
  
“Best friend,” Phila teased back, nudging Emm’s side. She giggled, then put her hands on Phila’s shoulders and planted a little kiss on her nose. It made Phila’s cheeks flush, just a little, but Emmeryn did that all the time. It didn’t mean anything.  
  
“That’s more like it,” Emmeryn decided, giggling. “Should we get going?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah,” Phila nodded quickly, blowing a strand of messy hair out of her face. “I’ll meet you at the bottom of the ladder, okay?”  
  
The ladder still hung out the window— no guards had noticed it, since it was in a blind spot that night. Phila had gotten ahold of the guards’ schedules and made sure there wouldn’t be anyone guarding that spot on this night, for certain. It was a two-story climb down to the gardens, and the bottom of the ladder hung about two feet from the ground, but the ladder had held Phila on the way up, so it would most likely hold them both on the way down.  
  
Phila had one leg out the window, her bag back over her shoulder, when Emmeryn voiced a protest.  
  
“Are you sure the ladder is safe?” she said worriedly. “I don’t want you to fall, Phi. That’s a long way to drop.”  
  
“It’ll be fine,” Phila insisted. “That’s why I’m going down first. So if you fall, I’ll be there to catch you!” She gave a dimpled grin at that, and Emmeryn had to give a nervous smile back.  
  
“Just be careful, alright?” Emm insisted, grasping Phila’s bandaged hands in her own. “I hate heights, you know that. It’s a cruel joke of architecture that the best bedroom is on the third floor!”  
  
“I know, I know,” Phila rolled her eyes playfully, swinging her other leg out the window and setting it on the rung of the ladder. “Just try not to look down. And if you have to, look at me. I promise I’ll be down there. Okay?”  
  
“Okay,” Emm agreed, looking reassured. She kissed Phila’s cheek (“for good luck,” she said later) and Phila started climbing back down the ladder the way she’d come, looking up and smiling reassuringly at Emmeryn every few feet. Emmeryn watched with her hands gripping the windowsill harder and harder with each foot Phila got closer to the ground, until she finally hopped off the ladder and landed lithely on the grass below, brushing dust off her trousers.  
  
She signaled for Emm to climb down, hoping Emm could see her smile reassuringly from up there. Steeling her nerves, Emmeryn gripped the windowsill tightly as she climbed out, her slender fingers white-knuckled on the stone of the castle. When her feet found the ladder, she moved one hand, then the other, to grip the ropes of the ladder, and started climbing down one rung at a time.  
  
It was slow going, but it was still the afternoon. The sun hadn’t quite started its descent into dusk yet, and Phila had anticipated this. It’d be a bit harder sneaking around in the daylight, but no one was going to question two low-born girls scampering off somewhere, even if one did have a wooden training lance strapped to her back (“just in case,” Lady Cosette always told Phila). Phila had known it’d take Emm a while to make herself climb down that ladder, so she’d planned for this. A good strategy, for a twelve-year-old with no experience in strategy beyond losing horribly in chess games— and even then, chess and real strategy were quite a bit different.  
  
Emmeryn seemed to lose her nerve around halfway down, where the castle wall dipped away from the turret where her bedroom was located, leaving the ladder to swing in midair. That combined with Emm’s issues with heights did not make for a pretty picture.  
  
“It’ll be alright, I promise,” Phila called up as loudly as she dared. “I’m right here! And you’re almost down.”  
  
“You’re used to this,” Emm brought up, carefully inching her way down the ladder and flinching when her foot slipped less than an inch. That was true— Phila had training in climbing things and fighting things and jumping and rolling and ducking and dodging. Emm’s only combat training was in tomes, which she was fairly good at despite how much she beat herself up about not getting things right, and everyone knew mages didn’t get the same kind of training that Pegasus Knights did. Pegasus Knights had to be agile yet strong, and they had to have endurance. Mages had to out-magic their opponents. It wasn’t exactly the same kind of training.  
  
“Yes, I have,” Phila admitted. “But that’s know I know you’re going to be fine! This is why I went down first.”  
  
Emm laughed nervously, looking up at the turret and her bedroom window— which seemed so far away, now. “Yes, that makes me feel better.”  
  
Phila inwardly cringed. “Just… just keep going, alright?”  
  
“Keep going,” Emm repeated, taking a short breath and gripping the rungs of the rope ladder. “Alright. Keep going. That I can do. I can just… pretend it’s a game. The floor is lava, and… something.”  
  
Phila could only vaguely hear that, but it helped Emmeryn move a bit faster. It was still slower than Phila would’ve liked, of course, but Phila was Phila and Emm was Emm, and they were definitely different people. Phila didn’t think she could stand being friends (or best friends) with someone exactly like herself. That’d be a lot of Phila to deal with.  
  
Emm was nearly at the bottom of the ladder when her foot slipped. She siezed up in panic, gripping onto the ladder, which swung back and fourth with her weight. Her hands gripped the ropes so tightly her knuckles went white, and Phila could practically hear her hold her breath in complete terror.  
  
“Just find your footing,” Phila called in encouragement, grabbing the base of the ladder to stabilize it. “You’re only five feet off the ground. You could probably jump from there—“  
  
“Jump?” Emmeryn’s voice was horrified. That had been the wrong thing to say.  
  
“Or not,” Phila said quickly. “Just… just breathe, alright? I’m right here.”  
  
“This was a horrible idea,” Emm wheezed, finally managing to find her footing and letting out a shaky breath, resting her forehead on the rung in front of her. “Why couldn’t we have just snuck out through the castle? I can handle stairs, stairs are fine. This is dangerous and terrifying!”  
  
“You’re doing great,” Phila promised. “Just a few more rungs, and then… well, then you’ll have to jump.”  
  
Emm made a noise that was a mixture of terror and the statement “are you kidding me” in one syllable.  
  
“Only two feet!” Phila insisted. “I’ll even catch you if you want. I’ve carried you before, you aren’t heavy.”  
  
“What did I ever do to deserve you,” Emmeryn mumbled, biting her lip and finally finishing out her descent. She stopped short with her feet on the last rung, and then she turned around to look at Phila, who wasn’t that far below her, it was true. Emm let out a breath, reminding herself it was Phila here, not some random kid. Phila was the most loyal of anyone Emm had ever met. When Emm had been crowned Exalt, Phila had dropped to one knee and swore to become leader of the Pegasus Knights, so she would be able to protect Emm for as long as she could, and then she’d looked up at Emmeryn with a chip-toothed grin and said it was a promise. They’d both been children then, though Emm had had to grow up quite a lot in two years. Phila had tried her best to keep up, but then, she wasn’t the Exalt. Maybe it was her job to remind Emm what it was like to be a kid every now and again.  
  
So with that in her mind and Phila just below, Emm closed her eyes and jumped.  
  
Her flight had been approximately half a second, but it’d felt like a year. Emm had always hated feeling like she was falling, mostly because she knew she’d hate the feeling of hitting the ground, and that same reason was why she wasn’t fond of heights. And then she’d collided with Phila and sent the other girl stumbling and the rope ladder swinging, but there were arms wrapped tightly around her that wouldn’t let go until she was safely back on the ground, and she knew it was Phila. Who else would it be?  
  
Phila could feel Emm’s heartbeat through her shirt, pounding faster than pegasus wings. She set Emm on the ground gently, though she didn’t let go, and Emm didn’t release Phila either. Emm was only taller than Phila by a few inches, which meant Phila’s chin was either awkwardly pressed between Emm’s shoulder and her chest, or awkwardly perched on top of Emm’s shoulder, with no in-between. But Phila didn’t mind— Emm hated heights, and that was an awful lot of height to climb down.  
  
They finally released the embrace when both became aware of just what they were doing. Best friends hugged, definitely, but not for that long, right? And they were just best friends. No need for anything else, right? (Even though, secretly, that was kind of all either party wanted.)  
  
“What did I tell you?” Phila chided gently, grinning. “I’ll always catch you if you fall!”  
  
“I never want to do that again,” Emm sighed. “Climbing back up will be much easier.”  
  
“It’s harder to look down, then,” Phila agreed. “Now come on, we’ll be late if we linger around here any more."


	2. Phila is a Giant Dork

Phila admitted sneaking around like this was somewhat exhilarating. She knew Emm was a bit more apprehensive about it, but thus far, it seemed to be going well. Dusk had started to fall, the shadows growing long and blue as Phila led Emm by the hand through Ylisstol’s busy streets.  
  
“We’re meeting up at the lake,” she explained, while leading Emm around a few carts and supply crates. “I don’t think it’ll be too rowdy. If it is, we can leave if you want.”  
  
“I can handle a few noisy children,” Emm replied. “I’m not sheltered, you know, I know what people are like.”  
  
“Not these people,” Phila muttered. “Look, Emm, they’re not really… they’re not really my friends, per say.”  
  
“What are they, then?” Emmeryn asked. “You wouldn’t go to a party with your enemies, would you?”  
  
“They’re just some kids I know from knight training,” Phila said, deliberately dodging the question.   
  
Emm frowned as the two neared the lake, approaching the light of a campfire. “What are they like?”  
  
“They’re… well,” Phila frowned back. “We’re almost there, you’ll see soon enough.”  
  
And she did see. There were a dozen or so of them, all about Phila’s age but the similiarities ended there. Not all of them looked mean or dangerous, per say, but Emm wouldn’t trust any of them to catch her if she was jumping off a ladder. Maybe it was just because she didn’t know any of them, though. They had to be decent kids, if they’d been accepted for knight training along with Phila.  
  
“Just act like a villager,” Phila whispered as she led Emm through the bushes. Emm nodded, adjusting the cloth covering her Brand. Act like a villager— she could do that. It was just act normal, right? She’d seen what villagers acted like, and true they were usually glaring at her or something of the sort, but she figured if she stayed quiet and watched how everyone else acted, she’d be able to pick up on some things.  
  
Names blurred together. There was Jackson and Lilah and Cardin and Chester and Merry and Dean and three Debbies and two Aarons and maybe a Penelope, and at least half of them went by nicknames that Emmeryn didn’t understand. Most of what she knew was that they were several adolescents gathered by a lake with no adult supervision and one of them had a violin. They didn’t seem to be too weirded-out by her— most seemed surprised when Phila introduced Emm as her best friend, which struck Emm as a bit odd. Why wouldn’t Phila have a best friend? Anyone would be mad not to want to befriend her.  
  
One of the bigger kids— Chester, Emm thought, but Chester and Cardin were twins and Emm hadn’t caught how you told them apart— had scoffed. “Looks more like your girlfriend,” he’d sneered, folding his arms.   
  
Emm had turned beet-red and looked at her knees, but Phila’s answer had surprised her. “So what if she is?” Phila had said hotly, taking Emm’s hand. “At least I— at least I have a girlfriend, not like you!”  
  
It was a weak comeback, and Chester’s (or maybe Cardin’s) reaction was apropro. “Yeah, right. The only person that’d ever date you is… someone like Frederick.”  
 “Yeah, but look how Phi’s friend is blushing,” one of the girls mumbled to the other girl sitting next to her. Was that one of the Debbies to another Debbie? The one that went by Patches was on the other side of the campfire.  
  
“Frederick isn’t even here,” someone else muttered, like it was obvious. Emm couldn’t say who that’d been.  
  
“Then kiss her,” Cardin (maybe Chester) challenged, raising a cocky eyebrow. “Right now. Do it.”  
  
“How about you kiss someone instead, you ugly, wart-faced stinking—“ Phila growled, her face flushed, but Emm cut her off from giving whichever frizzy-haired twin had spoken by fixing her hands in the collar of Phila’s shirt and kissing her, their lips ungracefully crashing together. It was a messy, inexperienced kiss, full of teeth and squashed noses and the taste of the bruise on Phila’s lower lip, and only lasted about five seconds.  
  
Phila put her hands on her lips, staring starry-eyed at nothing with her cheeks as red as the coals of the fire. She was grinning stupidly, her entire thought process made of exclamation points, with the phrase ‘I KISSED EMMERYN’ in there more than once. Emm hummed decidedly, her face burning, and released Phila’s shirt to grip her skirt instead.  
  
“Oh my gosh, it was their first kiss,” Patches whispered. Someone started applauding, and then at least eight others joined in. Emm felt herself being nudged in congratulations, and she gave a nervous little laugh.  
  
“I just kissed Emm,” Phila whispered, looking wide-eyed at Emmeryn.  
  
“I know you did, I was there,” Emm replied.  
  
“Oh, gods,” Phila mumbled giddily, burying her face in her hands. She looked so cute like that, Emm wanted to kiss her again— she had no idea why she’d just thought that, because they were just friends, right? And if it was a dare, then she had to do it, right? That was what a dare was, wasn’t it? (It really wasn’t, as anyone other than Emmeryn would tell you.)  
  
From there, the party went smoothly. Phila’s friends weren’t so bad— when Emm asked, many admitted to finding Phila “cool.” Phila confessed to Emm later she just wanted to prove she wasn’t a stuck-up perfectionist. There was talking and laughter and they danced to the violin one of the friends had brought, though Phila stepped on her feet. For a graceful, agile pegasus knight, she was awfully clumsy in dancing, a fact that amused Emmeryn more than it probably should.  
  
Eventually the sky turned dark purple, sprinkled with stars, and the sky over the lake turned a deep red with the fading sun. A few of the kids had left, making the atmosphere much more subdued, rowdy conversation fading to quiet murmuring amongst friends. Phila and Emm sat apart from the others, on a rock overlooking the lake, Emm’s head on Phila’s shoulder and their fingers laced together.  
  
“This was fun,” Emm decided, her voice soft so only Phila would hear.  
  
Phila nodded. “Sorry Cardin made you kiss me.”  
  
“He didn’t make me kiss you, I wanted to kiss you,” Emm insisted. “I mean… you didn’t mind, right?”  
  
“It was just really surprising, at first,” Phila admitted. “I’d wanted to kiss you, yeah, but I wanted it to be… something less awkward. Ideally I’d know what I was doing for my first kiss.”  
  
“Aezra told me first kisses are always awkward,” Emm brought up.  
  
“I didn’t expect it to be like that with you,” Phila replied. “You’re so… put-together. Perfect. I’d expect a first kiss with you to be perfect, too.”  
  
Emm blushed. “Sorry, then. I guess I could’ve done a little less nose-smushing.”  
  
“No, no, I’m not saying it wasn’t,” Phila backtracked. “I mean… I kissed you. Er, you kissed me. I’m still kind of processing it.” She laughed nervously. Emm could hear the laugh reverberating through her bones, with her ear to Phila’s shoulder.  
  
Emm giggled quietly. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered.”  
 “You say that a lot, I’m beginning to think you say it so I’ll get flustered,” Phila grumbled. Emm laughed more loudly this time, nudging her playfully.  
  
“Drats, you’ve found me out,” Emm giggled. “However will I complete my evil schemes now?”  
  
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Phila replied.  
  
Emm sighed happily, squeezing Phila’s hand. Emm had been to the lake before, but never like this. Never alone, or at least never without her family and several guards. Never with just her best friend, with a bunch of other kids she didn’t really know and would probably never meet again. She could feel her heart racing, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and she knew that this was the best night of her life. It was unlikely she’d ever be able to do anything like it again, but the fact she now had the experience, knew what it was like to sneak out and do something against the rules, meant more than she could really say.  
  
“If that wasn’t satisfying for a first kiss, we could… you know, try again,” Phila suggested.  
  
“Try again?” Emm turned red.  
  
“O-only if you want to,” Phila insisted. “I mean… forget it. It was a stupid idea.”  
  
“No, no, that’d be fine,” Emm said quickly. “I just… you’re really okay with it too, right?”  
  
“I mean, if you are,” Phila mumbled, idly scratching at her cheek. “W-we don’t have to. It was just, you know, an idea. In case that first time was too awkward or smooshy.”  
  
“Well… did you think it was too awkward or smooshy?” Emm ducked the suggestion. “I mean. We could, I think… if you think it’s a good idea. If you’re okay with it.”  
  
“I’m okay with it,” Phila insisted, turning her head to look at Emm directly. “The question is, are you?”  
  
“If you are,” Emm replied, and Phila groaned and covered her face with her free hand.  
  
“You’re making me question if I’m okay with it!” she said, her face red, and Emm laughed. “Look, just… are you okay with it?”  
  
“Yes,” Emm nodded assuredly. “Now, are you?”  
  
“Yeah,” Phila replied. She swallowed nervously. “So… should we…”  
  
“I thought that was what we were discussing,” Emm mumbled. Phila snorted, covering her mouth with her hand.  
 “Okay, so… here goes, then,” Phila mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut.  
  
“Here goes,” Emm agreed, doing the same. Maybe that was kind of a bad idea, since they ended up bumping noses again, their lips awkardly smushing together. They stayed that way for a few seconds, before Emm opened one of her eyes and pulled away, laughing.  
  
“I guess that didn’t work,” she admitted, smiling a little in embarrassment.  
  
Phila took a breath, laughing in a mixture of nervousness and relief. “I guess not, huh! Maybe we’re just not cut out for kissing yet.”  
  
“We have time to figure it out,” Emm figured. “I mean, this isn’t the last time we’ll see each other.”  
  
“Not the last time I’ll sneak you out, definitely,” Phila admitted. “Even if… you know… you still need to have fun from time to time, right?”  
  
“Absolutely,” Emm agreed. “And we’ll have better plans each time! Hopefully the next ones won’t involve rope ladders.”  
  
“Probably not,” Phila chuckled. “Hey, we’re kind of high above the lake. Are you scared?”  
 Emm braved a glance down over the rock, down the few feet or so to the surface of the water. Her lower legs were dangling off the edge, next to Phila’s. It looked like a long drop to her, even though it really wasn’t. But she didn’t feel scared.  
  
“No,” she said truthfully, squeezing Phila’s hand. “Because even if you do fall, I know you’ll be there to catch me. Or fall with me, as the case may be.”  
  
“That’s right!” Phila said proudly, clenching a fist and holding it over her heart. “As long as I breathe, nothing will hurt you or put fear into your heart! That’s the job of a Pegasus Knight, and I swear on my life to always protect you!”  
  
Phila’s silvery hair looked like it was made of sparkling stars in the light of the moon. It blew messily about in the breeze, strands escaping from the little braid around the back. Her hair was short, just to her chin, for practicality, but that didn’t stop it from being perpetually mussed. Her proud grin was wide and sincere, lips stretched into a smile, though it must hurt a bit with that bruise. Phila had said she’d bruised it during training, which more than likely meant she’d whacked herself in the mouth with her practice lance. She didn’t have to say it, though— Emm knew.  
  
She kissed Phila then, and this time their noses were in the right place and they didn’t bump teeth quite as much. They still did, but not enough to detract from the kiss. As far as Emm was concerned, it was perfect and nothing could ever come close to that, no matter how hard they tried.  
  
When they finally pulled apart, Phila gasped for air, sputtering, like she’d forgotten she could breathe through her nose. Emm raised an eyebrow, giggling a little light-headedly.  
  
“You know you can breathe through your nose, right?” Emm asked, touching Phila’s nose teasingly.  
  
Phila gently swatted her hand away. “I… might’ve forgotten.”  
  
“Might’ve forgotten?” Emm laughed.  
  
“Hush,” Phila grumbled halfheartedly, though she gave Emm a little grin. Emm squeezed her hand tight, resting her forehead on Phila’s gently. Phila was swaying back and fourth, a little giddy from the kiss.  
  
So giddy, in fact, that she lost her balance and fell off the side of the rock, dragging Emm along with her by the end. Emm was too startled to squeal before they hit the water with a splash, and the sounds of above the water were drowned out by the lake. The water wasn’t terribly deep, luckily, but it also wasn’t shallow enough that it’d be like hitting the ground.  
  
Emm righted herself quickly enough, coughing and spitting out water. Phila surfaced a split second later, her hair sticking to her face. Emm felt Phila’s hand still gripping hers tightly under the water.  
  
It took a minute, but she looked at Phila, pushing a damp curtain of blonde hair out of her face, and blinked. “Are you hurt?”  
  
“Just my pride,” Phila admitted, before stifling a giggle, then bursting out into laughter. “Yeah, yeah, I’m— I’m fine, what about you?”  
  
“Damp,” Emm replied pragmatically, before starting to laugh in response. “Y-you know, if I’d known you were going to fall off the rock, I wouldn’t have kissed you!”  
  
“Oh, don’t start that,” Phila pouted, pretending to be hurt. “We should get you home before you catch a cold.”  
  
“You know that if I get sick, you’re more than likely going to get sick too,” Emm observed as she and Phila started trudging back towards the shore. “We’re both only human.”  
  
“I’m a knight, we don’t get sick,” Phila said stubbornly, though she sniffled a seond later and Emm could tell they were both undoubtedly going to catch something.  
  
Emm decided that this had been the best night of her life. Even with feeling like nearly dying on the rope ladder and falling into the lake and awkward kisses, all of that didn’t matter with how much fun she’d had. She didn’t think she’d felt this excited, ever. Maybe if she really weren’t the Exalt, or even a noble, she could have fun like this more often. Maybe then she wouldn’t have to worry about suitors or nasty rich people or assassinations (that, as she was reminded nearly daily by her guards, was a threat) or her siblings being in danger. Maybe then she’d be able to love Phila.  
  
That thought made her somewhat sad. But she was the Exalt, wasn’t she? Damn whatever the rules said now, she’d change them! She was going to have a serious talk about whoever made rules like that. And really, didn’t having two queens sound like a much better idea for a peaceful country anyway? At least, it did in Emm’s opinion.  
  
But that wasn’t the point. That night she would go to bed smiling, and she hoped that Phila would, too. That was what she deserved, after all, and even if it was Phila’s job to protect Emmeryn (at least, it would be), Emm wanted to make Phila happy. That was what people who liked each other did, right?  
  
And the best part was, Emm didn’t think she was so scared of heights anymore. So long as she knew Phila was there to catch her, she wouldn’t be afraid to fall.

**Author's Note:**

> Knight-Lady dynamics+shoujo cliches+indie movie cliches= Ryan bursts into flame
> 
> This is only gonna be about three chapters long, but I may add more. I'm just not sure.


End file.
